Communication Errors: Major Cause of Medical Malpractice

Posted By David C. Rash P.A. || 26-Jan-2017

Communication is vital in providing high-quality patient care in hospitals.
Whenever miscommunication occurs, however, so do serious issues, such
as patient complications or fatalities.

According to a report by CRICO Strategies, 30% of the
medical malpractice lawsuits they reviewed involved claims where patients had suffered injury
caused by miscommunication of specific facts, figures, and findings. Also
included in the report, communication errors do not occur only because
someone doesn’t fully understand the doctor’s or nurse’s
orders. Rather, errors happen because information is misdirected, unrecorded,
never received, never retrieved or ignored.

Common Communication Issues

Communication problems mainly occur between medical professionals, as well
as between medical professionals and patients. In some cases, a combination
of both issues result in patient harm.

The following are common provider-to-provider communication issues:

Miscommunication about a patient’s conditions

Inadequate documentation

Failure to review the patient’s medical record

Common provider-to-patient communication problems include:

Inadequate education (often regarding information about medications)

Inadequate informed consent

Incomplete follow-up procedures

Miscommunication due to language issues

No or wrong information given to patient

Unsympathetic response to a patient’s complaint

What Causes These Breakdowns?

Since hospitals are often busy, the pressure of handling a large workload
can result in communication errors. Problems with a hospital’s electronic
health records system, workplace culture, and even distractions can cause
these communication breakdowns.

Furthermore, there are unexpected causes of communication breakdown, such
as familiarity. More communication breakdowns happen among people who
know each other compared to complete strangers. The reason is because
people assume they can use shortcuts in how they express themselves with
someone they already know, thinking the other party will understand. Unfortunately,
this assumption can have fatal consequences.

How Our Miami Medical Malpractice Attorney Can Help

At
David C. Rash P.A., we can thoroughly investigate your case and collect enough evidence which
determines that communication errors resulted in your injuries. With
more than 20 years of experience, we have secured millions of dollars in settlements for our clients. Do
not hesitate to obtain the experienced legal representation to get the
justice you deserve.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only.
Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual
case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt
or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.